It shouldn't be a privilege to have power. But in New Zealand, high power prices make electricity unaffordable for many. This winter, electricity prices will rise further and sweep more people into poverty.

We are therefore calling on power companies to take specific, reasonable steps to prevent harm ahead of winter. For instance, will they check that every customer is on the cheapest plan for their energy use? Will they stop charging disconnection fees, which affect people who are already unable to pay?

These are easy steps. Will you phone or email your power company to ask if they’ll take them?

If hundreds of us call our power company, they will feel public pressure to step up their support for people amid the price rises. We might also discover we have been left on an unnecessarily expensive plan, and switch to a cheaper one!

Sign up here so we can send you companies' contact details, and tips on what to say.

We'll also email you in a few days to check in about how it went. We'd love to hear what your company said, so we can build a picture of which companies are taking steps to care for people.

Thanks for taking action!